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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29894658">the best wealth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikemybooksthick/pseuds/ilikemybooksthick'>ilikemybooksthick</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Hockey RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, M/M, Protective Older Brothers, playing against your brother for the first time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:48:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,588</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29894658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikemybooksthick/pseuds/ilikemybooksthick</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Evgeny and Andrei are finally playing against each other for the first time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>---<br/>Evgeny's POV on the brothers' dreams coming true.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Andrei Svechnikov &amp; Evgeny Svechnikov, Dougie Hamilton/Andrei Svechnikov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the best wealth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Evgeny understands the power names hold well.</p>
<p>Not to make everything about being Russian, but they all bear their father’s names twice.</p>
<p>Countless times he’s had to explain to his teammates how his middle name is not really a “middle name”, it literally translates to “son of Igor”.</p>
<p>Countless times he’s tried to explain how “Zhenya” does make sense as a nickname for “Evgeny”, they’re just not Russian.</p>
<p>So, he’s “Geno” to his teammates, “Zhenya” to family and close friends, and “Evgeny” to everyone else.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sometimes feels divided into three different people: Geno, the teammate, Zhenya, the brother, the son, and Evgeny, the Russian.  </p>
<p>That’s the power names hold.</p>
<p>The ability for one man to feel like many; one person placed into different boxes for different people.</p>
<p>The way “Geno” makes him feel like he belongs in his adopted country, the way “Zhenya” feels like he’s back home, the way “Evgeny” feels far too formal now a days.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He’s had a long week.</p>
<p>Sent up and down from the League too many times for just a handful of games.</p>
<p>Usually he wouldn’t complain, happy to have the opportunity and all but right now, it feels almost cruel.</p>
<p>How many years has he waited to play with his brother?</p>
<p>How many years of dreaming and working and struggling for this moment?</p>
<p>And they can’t decide where they want him.</p>
<p>So up and down he goes, trying not to get his hopes too high up.</p>
<p>He’s waited so patiently.</p>
<p>Through injury, through a pandemic, through this constant up and down.  </p>
<p>But he’s so tired of waiting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, he gets the go ahead.</p>
<p>Finally, his dreams will come true.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He calls his brother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Andrei answers the call with a simple, “Zhenya”, voiced filled with a mix of anxiety and excitement.</p>
<p>He replies with a simple, “Andryusha”, filled with joy and certainty.</p>
<p>They laugh, trying not to cry, and well, what else is there to say?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He’s the only Red Wing at the Canes morning practice.</p>
<p>He’s been here before, many times.</p>
<p>When he was recovering from surgery, when they paused the season, he always came down to watch and show his support.</p>
<p>He never got tired of it, watching Andrei play, watching him succeed.</p>
<p>It hurt, knowing Andrei was beating himself up for not scoring lately. Anything that brought his brother pain hurt him too.</p>
<p>After almost every game the past few weeks he tried talking Andrei out of his thoughts. It wasn’t even really a slump in his opinion. Andrei was still playing great, helping the team, he was putting too much pressure on himself.</p>
<p>It was times like these that he was happy of where Andrei ended up.</p>
<p>Of course, he wanted to be closer to his brother, but Carolina was so good to Andrei. They loved him and Andrei loved them back.</p>
<p>His teammates, the city, the atmosphere, it was all exactly what Andrei needed to thrive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In an ideal world, they would play on the same team. They knew it was unlikely, but it didn’t hurt to dream.</p>
<p>He mentioned this to Marc when he was first traded to Detroit, another way to ask him why he never asked to play with his brothers, the other three all spending time together in Carolina, and was surprised by the answer.</p>
<p>Marc had always wanted to be on his own team, to be his own person.</p>
<p>Evgeny made a face before he could stop himself. He didn’t get that. Of course, he was his own person, but a brother was a brother.</p>
<p>Marc had laughed at him, and said, “Of course. They always have been and they always will be. That’s exactly why it’s okay to be apart sometimes.”</p>
<p>Evgeny didn’t respond, trying to wrap his head around that concept.</p>
<p>Marc clapped him on his shoulder and joked, “You don’t have enough brothers”.</p>
<p>As Marc turned to leave, Evgeny asked him if he was joining him at Canes’ morning practice, to see Jordan.</p>
<p>Marc laughed again, didn’t answer the question, and simply stated, “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”</p>
<p>And again, Evgeny couldn’t understand that. Why would he ever want to get used to it?</p>
<p>(Then, he did seriously wonder whether there are just too many Staals.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Andrei’s doing his drills, patient and diligent.</p>
<p>They had spent as much time together this morning as possible, talking about how it would feel, how they couldn’t believe it was finally happening.</p>
<p>They had called their parents, promising not to fight like they had been (half) joking about, feeding off each other’s excitement.</p>
<p>Andrei talked about how it was all coming together: them finally playing together, Teuvo coming back from his concussion, Marty planning the Storm Surge.</p>
<p>Evgeny joked to not get too cocky, that the Canes may not Surge tonight, his team could still win, but at the same time he would love to see the Canes do their little celebration again. Andrei loved it, so he loved it too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They went to Tripp’s house for breakfast and then drove to the Arena together.</p>
<p>Everyone was happy to see Evgeny, calling him “Geno”, chirping him as if he was one of them.</p>
<p>He talked to Marty about his pre-game yelling ritual and how much he appreciated Marty looking out for his brother. Marty brushed it off, saying it was nothing, how he loved it and loved Andrei like a brother too, but he looked pleased at the praise. He asked after Marty’s family and out of the corner of his eye watched Andrei’s face light up as Dougie walked in.</p>
<p>As Marty showed him pictures, he could hear Andrei ramble on about their morning, telling Dougie what Tripp made the two of them for breakfast.</p>
<p>Marty lets him go and he goes over to give Dougie a fist bump (Covid protocols and all).</p>
<p>Dougie compliments him on the goals he scored in his last game and then chirps about how he won’t let Evgeny score anymore tonight, promising to help Andrei get a goal. Andrei makes a joke about how “Dougie better”, and then something about being loyal to only one Svechnikov. The joke didn’t hit exactly right (Andrei never bothering about putting in enough work with his English) but Dougie laughs along anyway, like he knows exactly what Andrei was trying to say anyway. At this point, Dougie probably did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Evgeny saw it coming ‘from a mile away’, as Americans would say.</p>
<p>Back when Andrei was still settling into Raleigh, he talked a lot about all of his teammates, getting to know them on and of the ice, etc. Dougie’s name came up frequently. Andrei went on and on about how they were both new to the team and were learning how to navigate the city together.</p>
<p>So, at first, that’s what he thought it was: new guys bonding over being new.</p>
<p>Then, as games were played and Andrei started getting all his firsts with the team, Dougie’s name became even more and more frequent in their calls.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s helping me with my English.”   </p>
<p>
  <em>“Good, you need it.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He looks out for me.”</p>
<p>
  <em>“Good, you’re getting into too many fights.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s played with his big brother.”</p>
<p>
  <em>“Good, that’ll be us someday.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>And here they are.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They go back to Andrei’s apartment for lunch and Evgeny’s surprised Dougie isn’t joining them. The three of them spent so much time together this past year and Evgeny’s a good brother, he wants to spend time with the people Andrei cares about too.</p>
<p>When he asks Andrei about it, he says it was his idea, a “brother’s only” day.</p>
<p>Evgeny says he didn’t have to do that. Who Andrei loves, he loves too.</p>
<p>Andrei says nothing, speechless, and pulls him in for a hug, holding him tight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, they’re out on the ice, warming up, and there are no words for this feeling.</p>
<p>He puts his arm around his brother’s, their thirty-sevens and giant smiles matching up.</p>
<p>They play and play hard and it all just feels right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He doesn’t mind losing.</p>
<p>Andrei scored, Dougie helped, and that was good enough for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He watches Andrei and his team Surge.</p>
<p>He watches Andrei skate out for second star.</p>
<p>He watches the crowd roar for his brother and is bursting with pride.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Andrei and Dougie come out to say goodbye.</p>
<p>He holds his brother tight, both of them hating that this night has to end.</p>
<p>But he lets go, he has to, and turns to Dougie, who puts his fist out for a bump, but Evgeny thinks, fuck it, and pulls him in for a hug.</p>
<p>“Thank you.”</p>
<p>Dougie looks confused, “What for?”</p>
<p>Evgeny smiles. “For everything.”</p>
<p>He looks at Andrei and then back at Dougie. “We’re brothers now too.”</p>
<p>Andrei chokes up and Dougie looks astonished.</p>
<p>He squeezes Andrei’s arm one last time and nods to Dougie, “Keep taking good care of him.”</p>
<p>Dougie nods back.</p>
<p>“Always.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He watches as Marc and Jordan quickly hug, promising to talk soon and heckle each other to “get out of here”. He wonders what it’ll be like, when playing against his brother will get old.</p>
<p>He watches as Dougie and Andrei bump shoulders walking back, fingers brushing, and hopes it never does.  </p>
<p>He gets on the bus with Marc, who asks him how it felt, to finally get what he always wanted.</p>
<p>“Better than anything we ever dreamed.”</p>
<p>Marc smiles and says, “Next time you two should fight like Andrei promised.”</p>
<p>Evgeny laughs and thinks of all the next times they’ll get.</p>
<p>“Yeah, next time.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"Good brotherhood is the best wealth." - Russian Proverb</p>
<p>If you haven't read <a href="https://theathletic.com/2425132/2021/03/03/qa-with-hurricanes-andrei-svechnikov-and-red-wings-evgeny-svechnikov-brothers-awaiting-first-nhl-matchup/">this article</a> they gave to the Athletic please do. </p>
<p>These sweethearts are the best brothers.</p>
<p>You can talk to me on <a href="https://ilikemyficthicc.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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